Thanks Bill. I hope you had fun up there in the Boundary Waters. That's some mighty beautiful and peaceful territory.

Thanks for posting the nice short tour ! Enjoyed it. Unfortunately the last few posts had to wait till today for me to read because I went through MN to BWCAW with friends (who said it would be an easy trip with easy portages...) Probably would have been easy 5 or 10 years ago, but at 78, it was kinda wearing. If I had been driving by myself, I might have stopped and tried to visit you. Same for some other MN and WI friends. Life goes on. Enjoy the fall and hang in there for the winter.

I do kind of miss doing the wine reviews, but all good things must come to an end. Book reviews seem like a good next step in my bike touring career. Thanks for the idea.

Keillor's "Prairie Home Companion" had a long life on PBS until just a few years ago when he was accused of sexual harassment. I don't know the whole story, but he seemed like a pretty decent 75-year-old guy--unlike Harvey Weinstein whose creepiness was well-known for years in Hollywood.

The snow and ice didn't occur to me. I can't believe it stands up to tire traffic.

Thank you for your worry, but it wasn't necessary. I conquered the hill with moderate effort, and if I had a USA flag, I would have planted it at the top for an ironic photo op.

You always seem to notice things like missing hands--like that Ishpeming, MI lumberjack in my U.P. journal.

Great joke, I wish I would have thought of it myself.

I had never heard the term "Cobra Chickens" for Canadian geese before, but as soon as you mentioned it, I got it. More than once I've had them "HISSSSS" at me.

Like most things I eat, I drink milk because I like it. I don't eat many wheat products--pasty crust and bratwurst buns excepted--only because I don't really like them much. But I'd give it all up if I went through the things you went through.

Hell, I almost PUSHED him in there. HA!

I know, the parking lot seemed so small all these years later. Quite a bit more deteriorated too. As for chin-ups, I'm sure I could do more of them at that age than I can now. In fact, I'm not sure I could do even ONE while beginning with all my weight hanging straight down from fully-extended arms.

So do we get a book review like how you've done wine reviews? Can't say I have read anything by Sinclair Lewis.

So glad your second half of the ride was successful, the weather was good, you got some tent time and you got to see some homes of famous people. Hope you can squeeze another short tour in before winter - and/or the weather cooperates for a winter tour.

Haha - I called my first car "Necessary Beast". My bike fit inside her with the back seat folded down though, and she was reliable and sturdy, so I can't fault her too much. She eventually had to be retired, but I still miss her - she was so simple and so easy to drive.